This blog began through a NIFA grant for Missouri Beginning Farmers. It continues today as a way for beginning farmers to learn about new ideas and to hear about upcoming events of interest. It is maintained by Debi Kelly (kellyd@missouri.edu).

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As an Extension Associate with the University of Missouri, I work with beginning farmers, small farms, alternative agriculture and organic farming. I am also the Co-coordinator for the Missouri Sustainable Agriculture and Research (SARE) Education Professional Development Program (PDP).

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Monday, June 15, 2015

Chinese Solar Greenhouse

I recently attended an update on high tunnel technology
at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

One
of the speakers was a grower who was sharing his experiences building and using
a Chinese Solar
Greenhouse.

I
first heard the term, “Chinese Solar Greenhouse,” from our former State
Vegetable Specialist, Dr. Sanjun Gu, at the Great Plains Growers Conference
several years ago. Dr. Gu is from China, and had a lot of photos of this
interesting technology.

This
technology allows producers in China to grow warm season vegetables during the
winter months, with no additional heating. Can you imagine growing tomatoes in January
without extra heat? They are doing it in China, at latitudes similar to ours.
In other words, it is in a cold part of China,
not the tropics.

How
do they do this? The key is good insulation. The greenhouses run east and west.
The north side, as well as the east and west end walls, are very thick, made of
earth or some other material to provide insulation as well as storing heat. The
south side is covered with plastic, but is covered at night by a straw mat,
which provides further insulation to be able to retain the heat at night that
was gained during the day.

A
grower north of Springfield heard Dr. Gu’s presentation, and was intrigued
enough to build a Chinese Solar Greenhouse. He has followed most of the design principles,
although he has not found an insulating material to cover the greenhouse at
night. That has meant a few nights where the temperature inside approached
freezing, which required additional heat.

The
grower has tried several crops, including early and late tomatoes, cucumbers,
and bell peppers, which lasted until Christmas. He also has grown carrots, head
lettuce, kale, chard, celery, parsley, and various salad greens which have been
seeded and harvested all winter long.

In
addition he has tried ginger, which does quite well. Chinese Solar Greenhouses certainly have a lot
of advantages, especially if a grower has a market for crops during the winter.
There are a few disadvantages, including the extra cost of construction. It
will be interesting to see what this grower’s conclusions will be after a few
more years of using this structure.